Delaware Early Learning Foundations for School Success
The Delaware Early Learning Foundations for School Success is the culmination of several years of work by many individuals representing the interests of young children. The Delaware early care and education community now has available a curriculum tool to help further enhance the quality of early education services for its preschool age populations.
The Foundations document is intended to be used as an instructional or curriculum guide for planning. The items listed in each developmental area are meant as focus points for guiding instructional planning and NOT intended as specific child skill expectations. An educator can use the document as a checklist when reflecting upon the types of learning experiences they provided during the past week, month, or quarter. Where there are gaps, the educator can then plan for activities so that children have experiences to develop those skills. Remember, children will acquire skills when they have had an opportunity to learn new information and translate that knowledge into practice. Listed below are two instructional planning checklists for examining either monthly or yearly planned activities.
The Department of Education has several plans for the document. We will be developing an accompanying activities calendar that individuals can use to further support and promote children's development. Professional development opportunities for educators to use the Foundations in their classrooms and centers are now available through the Delaware First professional development program. The goal is to make the Foundations easily available and useable for all individuals involved with young children.
We trust you will find this document helpful as you plan your activities. As always, the goal is to support children and to provide them with the opportunities they need, to become successful in their future learning endeavors. If you have questions about the Foundations or would like training, please contact the Early Childhood Education Group at the Department of Education, 302-735-4210.
Download The Delaware Early Learning Foundations for School Success in pdf format
Download the Delaware Early Learning Foundations for School Success Lesson Plan Checklists for monthly or yearly review of instructional activities.
